A concern of electronic circuit designers is the control of component heat that builds up during circuit operation unless such heat is dissipated. Temperature control is vital to circuit reliability to prevent individual component failure as well as a consequent circuit failure caused by failed components. The preferred control method for component and circuit heat is to dissipate the excess heat into the atmosphere before temperatures rise to a level where damage can occur. Heat dissipation is usually accomplished by associating heat transfer devices, such as heat sinks, with the heat generating components to absorb component heat and radiate the excess heat into the surrounding atmosphere. Frequently, the component is mounted directly on the heat transfer device to more efficiently remove excess component heat.
The problems associated with heat control have become more pronounced as low profile and compact electronic systems have become the preferred choice of customers. These low profile and compact systems typically have design parameters that make it difficult to find space for all the required electronic components on the substrate of a printed wiring or circuit board, much less the heat transfer devices such components require to prevent heat related damage. For example, the specifications for a certain electronic system may call for a printed wiring or circuit board of not more than 125 square inches with a component height no greater than 1.24 inches. Within this limited space, over a thousand electronic components must be accommodated as well as the associated heat transfer devices necessary to remove over 100 watts of heat generated by the components.
A number of heat sinks are available on the commercial market that would otherwise be suitable for use in a compact or low profile electronic device, except for the fact that these they are only designed to accommodate only one or two electronic devices. This makes the use of these commercially available heat sinks generally unacceptable for use in low profile and compact electronic assemblies because there is not enough space on the electronic substrate to accommodate all the heat sinks required.
Although commercially available heat sinks are generally not satisfactory for use on electronic substrates designed for low profile and compact electronic assemblies, they have certain qualities that would make them attractive to designers and manufactures, if the space problem could be overcome. Some of the attractive features are their ready availability, the relatively low cost, and reliability.
In many circuits it is not uncommon to find as many as four electronic devices located in a position on the electronic substrate that could be attached to a single heat sink. In such cases, the proximity of the electronic devices also produces other desirable benefits, such as reduced pin tolerance from device to device and reduced electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a device and method to mount more than two electronic components on a commercially available heat sink designed for only two components. Specifically such a device should permit generally available, inexpensive heat sinks to by used on the electronic substrate of compact and low profile electronic systems. The device should permit the easy and efficient mounting of electronic components thereon, while only using a minimum number of parts.